Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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So, but overall when you just look at the mix of 3 for Me which is the primary value message inside of our restaurants, the direction that it’s gone in the last 12 months has been so positive. And oh, by the way, when they are in 3 for Me and more than half of them are not starting at $10.99 they’re trading up. So, we feel like we have a recipe for success on that. And this is, this is a page out of the QSR playbook, where you use great value to drive traffic, and then execute menu merchandising for the guests, that didn’t see that ad and – I think we’ll continue to do that. I think it’s been relatively successful in closing traffic gaps versus the industry, but continuing to drive menu mix in our business.

Andrew Strelzik: Okay, that’s great. Thank you. And then just a quick one on lowering the hourly turnover. What do you think is really the key of the unlock there? I mean you’ve talked about the progress you’ve made on the manager side, but from an ROE perspective with some – actually increasingly engaging some of the folks in the restaurant. I mean what – just something changed in terms of that focus or how do you think about that?

Kevin Hochman: Yes. We’re working on that right now. I’d tell you the managerial side was a lot clearer, because the restaurants are just so significantly easier to work in now. I mean we just had our manager conference last week, I was just kind of blown away by how many managers personally gave me the feedback that it’s like night and day different, and that’s helping with team member turnover. So we’ve seen team member turnover start to come down, but it’s not where we need it to be. We want to be ahead of the industry, not average or slightly behind. And so, that’s why we’re putting together our best Vice President of Operations’ minds to come up with, what are some disparate solutions that would allow us to make better – more progress faster on that?

Andrew, I wish I knew the exact answer. We would have employed it this past year. So while we’ve seen improvement, it’s just not where we want it to be. And I’m very confident that with the Vice Presidents making that their obsession metric in ’24, we’re going to make progress on it. And so, I’m excited to be able to share with you what that plan is at the next quarterly update. But that team is working on it right now.

Andrew Strelzik: Great, look forward to that. Thank you very much.

Operator: Your next question for today is coming from Jeff Farmer at Gordon Haskett.

Jeff Farmer: Good morning and thank you. We know you’re planning on advertising, but can you share your thoughts on what you’re seeing from the promotional and advertising environment from your casual dining peers? Are they are they sort of following suit with you guys, in terms of getting a little bit more aggressive as it relates to a return to TV advertising or advertising in general?

Kevin Hochman: Yes. We saw little bit of activity that we typically don’t see in July, but nothing has really seen out of place. So like, the usual characters are kind of doing their usual messaging. So that’s not – we haven’t seen any really difference in the behaviors, or the weights. I do think that our move in fiscal ’24 will be significantly different than we’ve done in previous years. The discounts aren’t any deeper, but the shouting of them will be obviously a lot more when you move from four weeks to 21 weeks. We’ll continue to monitor that very closely. I do think – when I look at the offers that I’ve seen from competition and I compare them ours. I’m really confident about ours. I mean I think – guest is cash-strapped to get a complete meal and an abundant complete meal that’s very high quality, and to do that at a price point, and you know that you can get it for that price point when you come into the restaurant.

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